After Li Xin made the decision, he immediately issued the order.

The militia forces in the Qinzhou and Lianzhou areas were formally organized into the Guiling Local Garrison Army, and the original Qinlian Local Garrison Regiment was renamed the First Regiment.

At the same time, Li Xin ordered Dongning, Liaodong, Xinluo, Jidong, Daiyue and other places to organize a militia regiment, named the Second Regiment, Third Regiment, Fourth Regiment, Fifth Regiment and Sixth Regiment, and to incorporate them all into the Guiling local garrison army.

After these troops were organized, they were all transported to Qinzhou Prefecture and Lianzhou Prefecture.

In addition, Li Xin also instructed the Dongning Ordnance Manufacturing Bureau and the Liaodong Ordnance Manufacturing Bureau to allocate a portion of weapons and equipment to Qincheng Prefecture and Lianzhou Prefecture.

While ensuring logistics and personnel, Li Xin transferred Yuan Weiwen, a deputy commander from the Shenwu Army, to Guiling Province to serve as the commander of the Guiling local garrison.

In addition, the 13th and 4th squads were incorporated into the Guiling local garrison, and the original captains, Gu Shisan and Zhao Shuisheng, were appointed as deputy commanders of the Guiling local garrison.

Yuan Weiwen, Gu Shisan, and Zhao Shuisheng also formed the Guiling Military Operation Deliberation Group to jointly decide on the military operation of the Guiling First Battalion.

After the order was issued, Qingyu Trading Company also began to organize merchant ships and transport ships to transport troops to Guiling Province.

The five newly formed regiments each have a strength of around two thousand men.

In this way, the number of troops supporting Guiling from the north will be around 10,000.

Although these 10,000 people were just militia, most of them had experience in local armed struggle and were much better than new recruits.

Most importantly, these 10,000 men are far stronger than the local garrison at Guiling!

With these 10,000 people, plus the current militia forces in Chin Lien, there are now more than 10,000 people!

With such a large force, they were able to open up a new situation at Guiling!

Moreover, it can even have a ripple effect, affecting regions such as Lingnan Province and Dianchi Province.

This is exactly the situation Li Xin wanted to see!

When the militia personnel in Daiyue and Jidong were all mobilized, the newly appointed commander of the Guiling Army, Yuan Weiwen, and the commander of the Shenwu Army, Liu Zheng, held talks in Jiaozhou.

The two agreed that once the Guiling Army had all arrived in Guiling, they would launch a full-scale attack on Guiling Province and Lingnan Province, thus containing Li Ming's forces from the rear and waiting for an opportunity to advance into Huguang Province and other places.

Meanwhile, the Shenwu Army launched southward operations from Huaibei and Heluo respectively.

The Shenwu Army and the Guiling Army joined forces to encircle Li Ming's troops.

After deciding on this strategy, Yuan Weiwen led the Guiling Army south.

...

While the Guiling army was marching south, Li Xin received another piece of bad news inside the Wuying Hall.

The grassland bandits gathered 200,000 cavalry and marched south in three routes, attacking the three provinces of Liaodong, Zhili, and Hedong respectively.

The cavalry marched in great numbers, their military might formidable!

Upon receiving this news, Li Xin immediately summoned Zhao Bingzhang, Wei Dahai, and others to discuss how to deal with the grassland bandits.

Since last winter, the grassland bandits have been gathering, waiting for an opportunity to move south.

And now, this hanging stone has finally been lifted.

"His Majesty,"

Upon hearing this news, Zhao Bingzhang wasn't particularly worried. He smiled and said, "Now that this shoe has dropped, things are much easier for us. We'll meet force with force, and water with earth. So what if they're just 200,000 grassland bandit cavalry?"

We also have the Divine Might Army, Divine Resolute Army, Divine Protection Army, Divine Strategy Army, Divine Machine Army, as well as the Valiant Cavalry Army and the Flying Cavalry Army deployed in the border areas.

Behind them, the Tiger Legion was positioned in the center to provide support and await an opportunity.

Two hundred thousand grassland bandit cavalrymen, seemingly coming in with great force, found their first nightmare to be the border region!

As long as these 200,000 grassland bandit cavalry cannot break through the border defenses and the stalemate continues, they will not be able to move south any further.

Therefore, the most urgent task is to instruct all border troops to make full preparations to meet the enemy!

Time is on our side!

"Um!"

Li Xin nodded slightly and said, "Yes, the time is on our side! Spring is coming soon, and after that, the new recruits of each army will have basically finished their training."

As long as they can withstand this attack by the grassland bandits' cavalry, the new recruits will gradually mature.

"Once the new equipment from the Beijing Ordnance Manufacturing Bureau enters mass production, we can launch a counterattack on the grasslands!"

The Beijing Ordnance Manufacturing Bureau is under construction at full speed.

Two production lines have been built since the beginning of the year, and the Yanning Type 1 breech-loading rifle has begun production.

In addition, the production line for the Yanning Type 1 breech-loading cannon is also under construction.

The new standard equipment is also much more powerful!

Although heavy weapons to counter cavalry have not yet been developed, it is still possible to stop the steppe bandit cavalry by relying on a strong city wall defense system and a trench defense system.

Immediately, Li Xin ordered all border troops to be on high alert.

At the same time, the Tiger Legion also entered its most intense training phase.

In addition to the border armies, the provinces under Li Xin's command also began to be on high alert.

Militia forces in various provinces are also on high alert in their respective regions.

Some provinces, prefectures and counties also began to continue to select elite militia members to form reserve forces to support the front-line troops at any time, in accordance with orders.

The grain and fodder transported from various places were also delivered to the various armies on the border.

In an instant, all the northern provinces began to take action.

All military and political personnel under Li Xin's command were busy.

Once the war machine is in operation, it displays an unprecedented and terrifying power.

March 19th, the first year of Yanning.

Li Xin led the main force of the Tiger Legion to Gubeikou.

In the vicinity of Gubeikou, Li Xin encountered the vanguard of a cavalry bandit force from the grasslands.

That afternoon, Li Xin summoned the nearby garrison troops to inquire about the situation.

"His Majesty,"

A battalion commander spoke up: "Based on reconnaissance over this period, the grassland bandits cavalry roaming around Gubeikou are just the vanguard. Behind them is a cavalry army of fifty to sixty thousand men, wandering the grasslands. It seems they haven't decided where to launch their main attack."

"The border defense line is far too long!"

Li Xin frowned slightly and said, "If fifty or sixty thousand grassland bandit cavalry identify a weak point in the border defense line and send out a large army, they can probably arrive in two or three days."

Our infantry support is too slow!

Therefore, each border post must be prepared to defend for three to five days, or even longer!

Only in this way can we hold the border when reinforcements arrive.

Only by protecting the border can we protect ourselves!

This is the key point!

Li Xin frowned, took a deep breath, and said, "Instruct the frontline scouts to continue their reconnaissance and keep a close eye on the movements of the main force of the grassland bandit cavalry. Report back immediately if there is any news!"

"yes!"?